National Whippet Club of Canada

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Whippet rescue

About Our Rescue Program

In 1998, a comprehensive Whippet Rescue program was organized with representatives from across Canada dedicated to intervening on behalf of abandoned, abused, neglected or lost whippets. We also offer assistance to owners who can no longer keep their whippets due to such circumstances as divorce, job loss or a death in the family. Whatever the reason, Whippet Rescue is here to help. At the 2001 Annual General Meeting, Paulette Blinch from Prince George volunteered to take on the position of National Rescue Coordinator.

Seniors are Great Dogs – A Rescue Story

Persephone was 11 when I got her and she was a very nervous and shy dog. She immediately bonded with Willow, who was 6 months at the time and mothers her all the time. She grooms her for hours as Willow just lays back and enjoys the treatment. It took a while for Leila, who was also 11 at the time (and just lost her male companion), to accept Persephone in the pack, but after a few weeks, all of them were sharing the couch and playing well together.

Persephone was very shy and reserved with strangers, but I constantly have people over to the house and she soon came out of her shell and became a different dog in a matter of months. The change was very noticeable with all my friends. She became more relaxed and friendly.

Even in the park she learned to play and run free with the other girls. She loves running around with her sisters chasing balls, the frisbee and of course squirrels.

She has been a joy to our family and I know I’ve only had her for 3 and a half years, but she has made such a positive impact on our little pack.

Thank you for helping us adopt her. ~ Deirdre

Ellie’s Story

In April of 2012, Ellie appeared in an ad on Kijiji. She was being sold by her owner because she lived on a farm and the owners were unable, or unwilling to stop her from chasing their sheep. She was 9 months old. Members of the Whippet community took it upon themselves to contact the original breeder of Ellie in the U.S. to let her know that one of her puppies was in need of a home. The breeder was grateful and assured them that she would get Ellie back and find her a home herself.

But a month later when Ellie appeared once again on Kijiji by a new owner, Whippet Rescue took notice. In this ad she appeared underweight and stressed. She had been spayed and was listed at 20 lbs. The owner was not happy with her and was asking $900. Whippet Rescue contacted this new owner and decided that she needed their help. They used donated funds to purchase her. But when a representative of Whippet Rescue picked her up, she was horrified at Ellie’s appearance. She was in a far worse state than expected. She was weak and emaciated. The owner didn’t think there was anything wrong with how she looked, but it was obvious that little Ellie was starving. She tried to eat everything on the ground around her, sticks, cigarette butts and even pennies. A visit to the emergency vet confirmed her condition – dehydration and emaciation. She weighted 19 lbs. The saddest part of Ellie’s story is that she was spayed at a vet clinic at 21 lbs, in a state of starvation. It was a miracle that she hadn’t died under anesthetic.

From the first moment, Ellie began to thrive in her new home. She gained 5 lbs in the first 7 days, and another 4 lbs, 7 days later. After a week, she began to regain energy and started to play with toys and the other dogs.

Today, Ellie is in a loving home with other Whippets and is happy and healthy. She loves anyone she comes in contact with. After three previous owners turned their backs on her, a group of wonderful people saved her life, all thanks to the help and necessary donated funds from Whippet Rescue.

~ Sandra (Sandra and Curtis took Ellie in after fostering her back to health. They could not give her up and adopted her.)

About Adopting A Whippet

We get a lot of inquiries to adopt from Rescue, but fortunately we do not often have many dogs available. Rescue is always looking for suitable temporary “foster homes”. That said, if you do get a Whippet you will find that they are also great couch potatoes, love to share your bed, are great with kind children, and generally make fine pets. If you go to shows and coursing/race events you can meet Whippets and their mostly besotted owners and you may get on a list for an older dog that needs to be placed in a new home. Sometimes a Whippet may be returned to the breeder for various reasons or a promising show puppy kept by the breeder didn’t grow up to be the super show dog and they are looking for a new home. They are usually great dogs that just need a new family. They are mature, trained, and their likes and dislikes are known.

Before you take any dog into your life, please think carefully and be prepared to be committed for the dog’s lifetime. If you do take a dog and for whatever reason cannot keep it, do the right thing and contact the breeder or a Rescue representative to rehome it properly.

Never buy from pet stores as they support puppy mills.

To Donate to Whippet Rescue

Have you thought about fostering? Rescue needs you!

One fact of life with Rescue is that dogs do not pick their time to get into a rescue situation. Lots of times their owners have no control over the circumstances either; not every dog in rescue is there because of neglect or because its owners just don’t want it. Therefore we may end up with more dogs than good places to put them! Hence the dire need for foster folks.

Good foster folks are worth their weight in gold. Most people are willing to take in the wonderful mannerly dogs but do not want to take in the unknown, the unmannerly or the non-housetrained. Some of these dogs turn out to be the best! One of our foster homes took on 2 six year olds who had spent most of their lives making babies, living in a shed and eating whatever junk was tossed their way. Kim house-trained them and taught them to be normal dogs. She placed the male with a Greyhound rescue lady but nobody was good enough for Maddie. She kept her and now Maddie lives the good life with her 3 other dogs, she is going to try her paw at Rally, she loves the lure and is a wonderful pet.

So, many times fostering is easy and we do not mind if someone just wants the easy ones, we need any help. Sometimes dogs need help becoming citizens of the world we live in. Most whippets are basically good natured and only once have we had to take a dog back once rehomed, thanks to the foster people who train and asses them. A foster person has to have some dog skills such as being able to do some basic training, can house break a dog and get it socialized. If the person has a sympathetic Veterinarian that is a big plus! Most of the time we have a quick turnover but it depends on the dog and the foster person. Rescue pays all expenses, many of our foster folks provide the food but it is not expected. We have lost some great foster homes because the people fell in love with the dog and kept it, which took them to their dog limit.

So, if you love dogs but maybe do not want to become tied down to fulltime ownership or perhaps expect a life change in the future, think about fostering! You can help a dog, enjoy the companionship of a dog who needs you and have the satisfaction of knowing that you have done a good deed! For more information on what is expected of a foster home, please contact our Rescue Coordinator or the Rescue Team Leader in your Province.